Even a Queen has nightmares
by there'snoexcuseforme
Summary: "My entire existence I have waited for you, my little child. And when I finally had you, I became blinded by desperate fears of losing you" One shot involving Hippolyta.


**" _My entire existence I have waited for you, my little child. And when I finally had you, I became blinded by desperate fears of losing you"_ Queen Hippolyta (The legend of Wonder Woman, Issue #9)**

"Diana!" The Queen gasped, waking up suddenly from another nightmare. It was not yet dawn, and all of Themyscira was still asleep apart from the night guard on duty.

At least she hadn't screamed herself awake this time, that had happened only once but it had caused little Diana to be awoken and the queens guards had burst into the room thinking their queen was in peril, making more of a disturbance to her daughter who would already be crying and distressed enough from being woken so suddenly. No….this time she had been quiet enough that Diana was still asleep in her cot over on one side of the bedchamber. That was a small mercy the queen had thought.

Ever since Diana had been born Hippolyta had been struck by a fear of losing her beloved child, it was strange, she tried so hard not to love her, tried so hard to resist it due to knowing that the child was supposed to be a weapon, but as soon as she had birthed her and held her in her arms she knew she loved her daughter more than anything.

That's when the nightmares had started, almost from the beginning. In her dreams she would watch Diana grow from a tiny baby into a strong beautiful young woman, but she would always feel a presence around her, an evil presence, Ares. He would find her just like Hippolyta feared and in those dreams Diana would fight him and it was as if Hippolyta was watching but unable to help, unable to stop it, unable to even move or say anything. She would just be forced to watch as Diana was destroyed by the God of war, blown to pieces by lightening right in front of her. He would laugh at the queen; mocking her distress, he would always laugh at her as he forced her to kneel before him in the ashes of her own daughter. It would always feel so real, like Hippolyta was watching something that was yet to happen but she could do nothing to stop it.  
Worse still would be the nightmares in which Diana was still a child. They always started the same, Diana would be walking alongside her mother, hand in hand, smiling happily when suddenly Hippolyta would feel Diana's hand slip from hers and she would turn to see Ares standing over her with little Diana in his grasp, crying in horror for her mother to save her. Hippolyta would scream and beg and reach for Diana but it did no good, the nightmares would always end the same as Ares tore the child apart with his bare hands.  
The sounds she heard, Gods….those awful sounds, Diana screaming in pain, her bones breaking, her flesh tearing, it was unimaginable, and that's when Hippolyta would wake up screaming in terror.

Hippolyta had told Antiope about her nightmares, though she had left out some of the more disturbing details, no one should have to know those things, and sometimes Antiope would share the queen's bed to calm her after she had been woken from her terrible dreams. _"Rest easy dear sister"_ Antiope had said, pressing a kiss to Hippolyta's forehead and wrapping her arms around her.  
Antiopes presence did help a lot, but Hippolyta didn't want to come between her sisters relationship with Menalippe and keep her from the bed the two shared, so she lied to her and reassured her that the nightmares had stopped. In truth they were becoming less frequent, but they still haunted her.

Hippolyta was aware of a cold sweat all over her body and that she was still trembling, _"Get a hold of yourself, it wasn't real. Ares is dead"_ She told herself, getting out of bed and walking to the wash basin in the corner of the room. She soaked a washcloth and wiped down her face, the cool water helping her feel calmer again. Her hands ceased quaking, and her breath slowed again, returning to normal.

Diana snuffled in her sleep, having dreams of her own and Hippolyta went to the cot to check on her. There she was, lying peacefully with her thumb in her mouth. "My beautiful perfect little girl"Hippolyta whispered as she stroked Diana's soft cheek with her finger. She had recently turned two and perhaps she was a little too big to still be sleeping in a cot next to her mother's bed, but the queen wasn't quite ready to let her go yet, so there she stayed. Hippolyta always marvelled at how content Diana looked when she slept, she had no idea of what she was yet, or how she came to be, she was still just a baby without a care in the world and if Hippolyta had a choice in the matter she would keep her like that forever.

* * *

Diana was going through a strange yet adorable phase at the moment where she refused to wear her clothes. Even when she would be clothed in the morning she would soon wriggle out of her dresses and slip away from her mother or her minder and run free, happy to just be wearing her nappy and nothing else. Even the previous day she had been caught at it again, Hippolyta had returned to the palace from a meeting with the senate to hear her tiny footsteps running along a corridor until she turned a corner and slammed right into her mother's legs, falling onto her bottom with an "Ooof!"

"Again Diana?" Hippolyta said, looking bemused at her little daughter

"Diana come back!" an angry voice shouted from the end of the corridor and Diana scrambled to hide behind her mother's legs.

"Diana I won't tell you again, I…." came the exasperated voice of Diana's minder, Calliope, who was visibly angry until she came face to face with the queen and stopped suddenly, bowing to the queen.

"Oh, my apologies my Queen. She got away from me again" she said, holding Diana's dress in her hands and looking worried. She shouldn't have shouted at Diana in the presence of the queen, surely she would be reprimanded for that.

"There's no need to look so worried Calliope" The Queen told her, bending down to pick up Diana "I know how frustrating my daughter can be at times".

"But still, I shouldn't have raised my voice to her" the young woman said

"It is no matter" The queen reassured her "I'll take her now" and Calliope handed over Diana's dress to the queen and bowed again, leaving the pair alone.

Hippolyta took Diana to her chambers and sat her down on her bed, kneeling down to be eye level with the child. "Diana, a princess does not run around the palace wearing just her nappy" she said to her daughter, but Diana fixed her with a determined look that said she would continue to do so anyway.

"No dress!" Diana told her mother, but Hippolyta wasn't going to back down from this fight.

"Yes dress" She said and went to slip the little garment over her daughters head. "Come on, arms up". But instead Diana folded her arms across her body and tried her best to look serious. "Hmmf!" she pouted.

"Diana, arms, now" Hippolyta said in her sternest voice, and at that little Diana relented and slipped her arms through the sleeves. She adored her mother but she also had a healthy amount of fear for her too, as every Princess should for their queen. "There, perfect" she said, smoothing out the fabric of the dress and then Diana's hair.

Diana had a look of sadness on her face, so Hippolyta kissed her forehead to let her know she wasn't mad at her. "I love you Diana, but you can be very frustrating sometimes".

* * *

Hippolyta stood over Diana's cot for countless minutes just looking down at her daughter until she decided she needed to hold her. She knew it was risky, she might wake her up and she'd be tired and cranky but the Queen just really needed to hold her baby at that moment.

As gently as she could she slipped her hands underneath Diana's tiny body, she stirred a little, making a cute whimpering sound "Ssssh it's alright, don't wake up. Mama just wants to hold you". Hippolyta whispered, and thankfully Diana stayed asleep even as she was lifted out of her cot. "There we are" she said as she held Diana against her chest and took her back over to her bed, propping herself up against the pillows with Diana held close, a warm blanket wrapped around them for comfort. The images from her nightmare were still lingering in her head even as the sun started to rise over her Island, but holding Diana in her arms made her feel a kind of peace, so she kept hold of her until it was time for the day to begin.

* * *

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